English Language Arts

Students are familiar with the routines and procedures of choosing a variety of just right books, accountable talk, working with reading partners and book clubs and have worked to evaluate and justify with text evidence when writing about reading. Setting up the routines and procedures will help a community of readers choose, talk about and read books critically. The primary goal is to set the stage for engaging a community of avid readers who read, think, talk and write about books in great volume. During this unit, reading partnerships will be launched, in order to give students practice and opportunity to take and make reading journeys through a book more meaningful.

Reading Skills: Summarizing, Predicting, Visualizing

Unit 1 Writing - Launch/Personal Narrative Unit

Unit 1
Writing

In this unit, students will briefly spend time establishing the expectations for grade five writers workshop and writer’s notebooks through personal narrative writing. Personal narrative can be defined as a small moment story that is reflective of a significant or meaningful, event, time, place, person, memory in your life. Students will explore narrative writing by reflecting on significant and meaningful moments in their lives. In doing this, students will practice collecting ideas for writing and growing those ideas into stories by implementing specific writing strategies. Throughout this unit, students will move fluidly through the writing process of collecting ideas, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.

Unit 2 - Developing Theories about Characters

This unit lays the foundation for interpreting work that students will continue in the social issues book club unit later in the year. Building off of character work in the past, students will learn to identify and analyze the less obvious traits and feelings in characters that reveal the complexity and layers of a character. This work will then lead to more complex thinking as students shift their focus to using those identified complexities to analyze character change. While analyzing character change, students will learn to empathize with their characters to help them fully understand the changes the character is experiencing.

Reading Skills: Prediction, Inferring, interpretation, developing theories about characters (specifically about character change), using text evidence to support theories

Unit 3 - Nonfiction: Researching with Texts

Nonfiction books will first be sorted into general topics including animals, disasters, technology and history. Students will spend time previewing the broad topics to determine an area of interest. From there, students will select the topic they are most interested in. Each teacher’s classroom will become an authentic research community where students will be temporarily working within that classroom with other students who are interested in similar topics. While in their authentic research community, students will build off of their work from fourth grade by narrowing their focus from a broad topic by developing their own text sets (i.e. animals will be narrowed to endangered animals, narrowed to poaching elephants).

After the research phase is complete, students will use their collected notes to develop and clearly articulate a feature article that has a bias about their topic. Students will write with the purpose of presenting information with a bias, organizing their writing with text structures and text features. The immersion into the genre through the research bend of this unit will imitate the writing styles of the books they read.

Unit 4 Reading - Interpreting Social Themes

Unit 4
Reading

This unit moves student thinking a notch up from inferring character traits and motivation and justifying their inferences with both text evidence and schema to interpreting the themes that authors reveal through the troubles characters face. Issues may include bullying, friendship, fitting in, divorce, etc. Students will move from collecting individually, to working productively with a partner and then to launching book clubs. Third and fourth graders worked in book clubs and will likely bring some collaboration skills as this unit teaches students to come prepared with specific ideas, questions and interpretations to discuss in depth.

Reading Skills: Interpreting

Unit 4 Writing - Literary Essay: Proving Your Interpretation of a Character

Unit 4
Writing

Students will do the heavy lifting work of rehearsing and revising interpretations of literature in their social issues book clubs. Using the theories that students developed in book clubs using a variety of text they will write literary essays. The focus might be on theme, character analysis, importance of setting, author’s craft, changes of character from beginning to end of story, etc. Some students will use one text while others will compare and contrast using multiple texts. The end product will include a thesis, supporting details from their book(s), organization using paragraphs, and conclusions which may include connections back to the writer’s own life.

Unit 5 - Picturing Change

Unit 5

This unit introduces a more diverse collection of texts, characters and authors into the fifth grade classroom libraries. Due to the homogeneous nature of this school community, students often find books to be mirrors, reflecting their own experiences and lives. However, they rarely have the opportunity to experience books as windows looking and opening up into a variety of communities, cultures, life experiences and family dynamics that are different from their own. The main objective of this unit is for the students to use empathy to see the world through a variety of lenses. Then to use those lenses to exercise their voice and to think more critically and reflectively about people, communities and experiences.

Students will begin this unit with an initial investigation across a variety of picture books that address social inequities, historically marginalized groups of people, and cultural blind spots. Through the first bend of this unit, they will spend time looking for larger themes across these books and how the characters respond to conflicts and adversities. Students will learn to look at books as both a mirror to see themselves, but also as a window to see the rest of the world. In the second bend of this unit, students will narrow their focus from looking at this collection of books as a whole, to one social inequity, one group of marginalized people or one cultural blindspot. The third bend of this unit will have students investigating these focuses in relation to current events and developing an action plan for how they can use their own voice to make/plan a social change.

Reading Skills: inferring, interpretation, analyzing visuals

Unit 6 - Poetry

Unit 6

In this poetry unit, students will move through three short bends. In the first bend, students will be immersed in poetry, focusing on volume of reading because this unit will run simultaneously as the SBAC practice unit. The purpose of pairing these two units together is so that students have the opportunity to read with volume and engagement while practicing analysis through creative thinking practices.

In the first bend of this unit, students will spend time reading across a variety of poetry with the focus of identifying and interpreting figurative language and craft moves. As students move into the second bend, they will narrow the types of poems they are reading based on high interest authors, topics, themes or styles. This is also when students will make poem selections for the declamation contest. In the final bend of this unit, students will emulate the authors, styles, topics or themes they were reading about by writing their own poetry. They will be expected to implement similar craft moves and figurative language in their own writing.

Throughout this unit, students will also be reading in novels written in poetry, rather than in prose. Suggested texts include Love That Dog, Hate That Cat, Locomotion, Inside Out and Back Again.

Unit 7 Reading - Historical Fiction Book Club

Unit 7

In this unit, the work will continue to build off of the fourth grade historical fiction unit. Students previously took a critical and empathetic stance to historical perspectives and experiences. Students will be immersed in reading historical fiction and nonfiction centered around Slavery, the Civil War, Industrialization, Immigration, Westward Expansion, World War I, World War II, Civil Rights, the Great Depression and current events. Students will analyze and grow theories about, and trace themes across how struggles grow/stem from power, money and opportunity.

Grade 6

Unit 1 [Reading] Ownership and Agency

Unit 1: Reading

This unit lays the foundation for readers workshop routines, procedures and expectations while launching students to be reflective goal setters who collaborate respectfully both in and out of the classroom. Readers will share thoughts and ideas and engage in evidence based discourse.

Reading Skills: Summarizing, Visualizing, Predicting

21^st Century Capacities: Reflection, Collective Intelligence

Unit 1 [Writing] Ownership: Writers Have A Voice - Writer’s Notebook

Unit 1: Writing

This launch unit establishes motivation and engagement in writing and encourages students to take responsibility for gathering topics, setting goals and taking risks in writing. Using the writer’s notebook as well as a variety of tools including SMART Phones, cameras and social media is a way to gather the moments, ideas and problems that we encounter in our everyday lives. Students will examine ideas that are important and interesting and imagine a variety of ways to write about them.

21^st Century Capacities: Imagining, Reflection

Unit 2 [Reading] Tackling Trouble: Analyzing Characters and Problems to Interpret Theme

Unit 2: Reading

Fifth graders worked in realistic fiction stories to interpret universal themes and collaborated in book clubs both in social studies and language arts to develop, discuss and revise theories in preparation for writing literary essays. Students are experienced in coming to partnerships prepared with questions and evidence to discuss. The complexity of the texts will present new applications for students to do the work of interpretation and compare and contrast characters and themes across multiple texts. Readers’ Notebooks will serve as important tools for gathering thoughts and evidence.

Reading Skills: Interpreting, Inferring

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing

Unit 2 [Writing] Writing About Reading - Literary Essay

Unit 2: Writing

Fifth grade students wrote literary essays during their social issues book clubs. Students developed thematic and character analysis essays based on thinking, talking and collaborating work that they did in reading book clubs. Students will lift the level of essay writing and keep the message that writers always consider their audience, purpose and message when writing and include craft moves and voice that make writing interesting to read. Readers’ Notebooks from the reading unit will serve as springboards and help students use and further develop their ideas and evidence as they draft and revise essays.

21^st Century Capacities: Design, Analyzing

Unit 3 Reading & Writing

Unit 3: Reading

This unit will start by building engagement with nonfiction texts through inquiry-based instruction. The spirit of this unit is for students to start finding engagement, learning, and wondering in informational reading which will eventually lead to research. Students will have opportunities to read many informational texts gathered in the classroom and library. Throughout this unit, there is an emphasis on critical reading, explaining reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, and drawing evidence from informational text to support analysis, reflection and research. After collecting and synthesizing the information gleaned from the reading, students will write an argument essay.

Reading Skills: Interpreting, Critiquing

21st Century Capacities: Alternate Perspectives, Synthesizing

Unit 3: Writing

Students will learn how to present information in an organized manner, relying heavily on their inquiries and notetaking skills from reading a variety of nonfiction resources. The overall goal of this unit is to teach students to be more persuasive and more analytic, able to weigh evidence, to follow lines of logic, and draw evidence-based conclusions.

Students will be writing a research based argument essay.

21st Century Capacities: Alternate Perspectives, Product Creation

Unit 4: Fantasy Book Clubs

In this unit of study, students will become more powerful readers of fantasy by building their facility with complex texts and maintaining their collaborative interpretation skills in book clubs as they explore the new worlds and settings. Students will be introduced to the Hero’s Journey, and guide them through interpreting the elements that set the fantasy genre apart from other genres, paying close attention as they read, assuming that all details matter, and accumulating and synthesizing a tremendous density of information.

Students will be reading their novels with partners/small groups to analyze the hero’s journey, character archetypes, and themes.

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Collective Intelligence, Design

Unit 5 [Reading] Short Stories: Writing Under the Influence of Narrative Authors

Unit 5: Reading

Students will be immersed in the short story genre to read like writers for the purpose of analysis and goal setting. Students will use reader's notebooks to analyze and deconstruct plots, characters, settings and craft moves to help them model and plan for writing their own original short story.

Since students have already done some work with these elements in earlier grades, this unit is approximately three weeks in duration.

Reading Skills: Interpreting, Evaluating

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Synthesizing

Unit 5: Writing

Fifth grade students wrote personal narratives and mysteries in the narrative genre. They worked to develop scenes and characters with a variety of planning tools. Students will develop short stories with a universal theme embedded throughout the writing process.

21^st Century Capacities: Reflection, Design

Grade 7

Reading Unit 1: Agency and Ownership

Unit 1 Reading

During the launch of readers workshop students will focus on responsibility, independence, and reflection. Teachers will help establish classroom routines and procedures including student and teacher responsibilities for mini-lessons, reading conferences, preparation, planning, accountable talk and using the class library. As students choose and read just right books purposefully, the focus will move from talking about reading to writing about reading and launch reading response journals while teaching students how and why readers set goals for book choice, stamina, talking and writing about reading and reading with purpose.

Reading Skills: Summarizing, Visualizing, Predicting

21^st Century Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Reflection

Writing Unit 1: Launching Writer's Workshop with Memoir

Unit 1 Writing

This launch unit establishes motivation and engagement in writing as the teacher models and encourages students to take responsibility for gathering topics, setting goals and taking risks in writing. An emphasis will be on the importance of examining ideas that are important and interesting and imagining a variety of ways to write about them.

Seventh grade students are experienced narrative writers. They’ve explored personal narrative, personal essay, short stories, realistic fiction and mystery writing in workshop. They use dialogue, description, and actions to build internal and external characters and set the mood, pace and tone of a piece. Teachers will build on the important theme work readers and writers have done to introduce them to planning and writing a memoir with a specific audience, purpose, and message in mind. Writers will also work with partners to set goals and reflect together using checklists and mentor writing.

21^st Century Capacities: Design, Reflection

Reading Unit 2: Analyzing Theme Through Character

Unit 2 Reading

Students will apply the signposts learned in the launch unit to help grow their thinking and awareness about characters in this reading unit. At the same time, students will extend the work of character inference and use it to develop themes. They will work in book club partnerships to first learn important strategies for gathering and talking about ideas, and then to analyze how authors embed theme in character, conflict, and trouble. Reading clubs will help push students toward collaborative inquiry work as they walk in the shoes of characters and lift interpretation work toward universal themes. Reading and writing work will be tightly integrated as students use their readers' notebooks to gather and analyze evidence that will drive their writing of literary essays in the next unit. The classic young adult novel, The Outsiders, serves as the mentor text for modeling, understanding, and applying the unit's concepts.

Reading Skills: Inferring, Interpreting

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Synthesizing

Writing Unit 2: Writing About Reading - The Literary Essay

Unit 2 Writing

Students will be writing about their reading to build stamina and connect the thinking they do about specific texts to larger, life-lessons. This practice transfers to the literary essay writing students will be doing in this unit. Students will be taught how to develop strong claims about the texts they are reading. Individual and small group conferences will be conducted in response to students’ needs in order to improve their writing skills. They will be producing a variety of writing with message, audience, and purpose in mind. Finally, students will publish a final theme-based literary essay.

21^st Century Capacities: Design, Production Creation

Reading Unit 3: Critical Reading of Informational Texts

Unit 3 Reading

A goal of this unit is to build engagement in informational texts through inquiry-based instruction. Students will have access to many informational texts in the classroom and will sort books and articles into text sets that will set them up for the compare and contrast work that will drive this unit.

Students will compare and contrast the craft moves, style, content and structure that authors use to engage readers to care about a cause or issue while emphasizing the importance of determining the credibility of a source and author’s bias.

Reading Skills: Questioning and Synthesizing

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Collective Intelligence

Writing Unit 3: Research Based Argument Essay

Unit 3 Writing

The end of the informational reading unit leads directly into the research-based persuasive essay. Students will write their first draft of the research essay by conducting group research about a topic they care about and then debate about these topics. Students will establish and support positions matched to a specific audience, purpose and message, move to more focused arguments, and then recraft their piece to match a more global audience.

21^st Century Capacities: Production Creation, Alternate Perspectives

Unit 4 Historical Fiction

This historical fiction unit allows students to tackle more complex texts building on the foundations learned in nonfiction. Students will learn how to build collective interpretations, how to listen closely to each other in book clubs, and how to carry ideas across time. Readers will investigate the special role of setting in historical fiction novels, accumulate and synthesize details using reading tools such as timelines and graphic organizers, and be reminded to bring what they know of reading fiction into their work. Importantly, students will learn to empathize with complex characters while reading critically through the lenses of perspective and power. Essentially, students will learn that reading teaches us all how to live.

Reading Skills: Synthesizing and Interpreting

21st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Alternate Perspectives

Reading Unit 5: Exceptionalities

Unit 5 Reading

Reinforcing reading engagement through self-reflection and inquiry will be an important objective in this unit and the formation of book clubs will help in this endeavor. Throughout the course of the unit, students take responsibility for their own journey of discovery as to what is an exceptionality and what is a disability? Teachers will model and coach effective discourse and digging for a deeper look at exceptionalities within the world of their book club novels. Later, readers observe how exceptionalities affect character’s emotions, actions, and life choices, and teachers will guide students to examine the impact on secondary characters. By the end of the unit, students will internalize the universality of the author’s message as they synthesize all of the texts and experiences they have encountered and explored.

Reading Skills: Analyzing, Alternate Perspectives, Making Connections

21^st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Alternate Perspectives

Grade 8

Reading Unit 1: Ownership and Agency

Unit 1 Reading

Teachers launch readers workshop in the classroom with a focus on responsibility, independence, and reflection, establishing classroom routines and procedures. This includes student and teacher responsibilities for mini-lessons, reading conferences, preparation, planning, accountable talk, and use of the class library. As students choose and read “just right” books purposefully, teachers move them from talking about reading to writing about reading. Reading response journals will be an integral part of instruction and assessment as students learn how and why readers set goals. Another major portion of the unit is student collaboration where they will learn to work respectfully and responsibly with others, exchanging and evaluating ideas to achieve a common objective. Goal setting will cover a variety of areas such as book choice, stamina, talking and writing about reading, and reading with purpose.

Reading Skills: Summarizing, Envisioning, Predicting

21^st Century Capacities: Reflection, Collective Intelligence

Writing Unit 1: Ownership: Writers Have A Voice - Writer’s Notebook

Writing Unit 1

This launch unit establishes motivation and engagement in writing as teachers model and encourage students to take responsibility for gathering topics, setting goals, and taking risks in writing. Teachers model the idea that we write in our notebooks (both hardcopy and digital) using a variety of tools including devices, cameras, and social media to gather the moments, ideas and problems that we encounter in our everyday lives. Emphasized is the importance of examining ideas that are important and interesting and imagining a variety of ways to write about them.

Writers gather and experiment with ideas that will be returned to later on and write about in a variety of ways. Modeling with teacher’s own writer’s notebook lays the foundation for engagement and risk-taking in writing throughout the school year.

Students will read and write outside the classroom on a regular basis to continue building agency, engagement, and stamina in both reading and writing. After editing and revising, students have the opportunity to publish their work via blog, literary magazines, or amongst peers.

21^st Century Capacities: Imagining, Reflection

Reading Unit 2: The Hero’s Journey in Literature and Life

Reading Unit 2

This unit serves to take grade eight students' knowledge of effective storytelling and elevate it to the next level. This is a critical skill, as we know that narrative writing is the genre that really gives students their own voice and makes writing meaningful and personal. Students will have ample opportunities to learn, experiment with, publish, and share the elements of creative writing. Rather than commit to writing about one character, one plot line, one setting (really one story), student choice will be expanded and the volume of student writing will increase as they work daily to try new techniques as writers.

By the end of the unit, students will understand that they can call upon these narrative writing skills and strategies for any type of writing. This will be done through mini-lessons that allow them to create settings, establish mood, develop characters, delve into description via imagery (figurative language, sensory details), and experiment with voice. Although students may create any piece, specific instruction will be given in the following formats: short story, vignette, poetry, and chapter one.

Throughout the unit, students will work to build a portfolio of their writing samples and ultimately choose one piece to publish in The Polson Press, a blog designed with access for Polson students only. A reflection explaining the good writing techniques they used and the effect on the reader will wrap up the unit.

21st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Reflection

Writing Unit 2: Creative Writing

Writing Unit 2

This unit serves to take grade eight students' knowledge of effective storytelling and elevate it to the next level. This is a critical skill, as we know that narrative writing is the genre that really gives students their own voice and makes writing meaningful and personal. Students will have ample opportunities to learn, experiment with, publish, and share the elements of creative writing. Rather than commit to writing about one character, one plot line, one setting (really one story), student choice will be expanded and the volume of student writing will increase as they work daily to try new techniques as writers.

By the end of the unit, students will understand that they can call upon these narrative writing skills and strategies for any type of writing. This will be done through mini-lessons that allow them to create settings, establish mood, develop characters, delve into description via imagery (figurative language, sensory details), and experiment with voice. Although students may create any piece, specific instruction will be given in the following formats: short story, vignette, poetry, and chapter one.

Throughout the unit, students will work to build a portfolio of their writing samples and ultimately choose one piece to publish in The Polson Press, a blog designed with access for Polson students only. A reflection explaining the good writing techniques they used and the effect on the reader will wrap up the unit.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Reflection

Reading Unit 3: Interpreting Dystopian Novels

Reading Unit 3

The literary genre of Dystopian, while not new, has made a significant resurgence in young adult literature. In this warped version of a utopia, the structure of a government-designed society is the antagonist in the story. As students enter into these dark worlds where the protagonists must struggle for physical and/or moral survival, they explore the way authors alter our world to create the strange new world of dystopian texts. Through their interpretation of how the setting affects the characters, students will examine the social commentary the author is making while they also uncover universal themes.

Throughout this unit, students will be using information from the text to support their analysis of how the specific dystopian setting affects the story and how the author’s message is delivered to readers to make some kind of social commentary. Finally, students will make connections among our world, the world the author has created, and history to demonstrate an understanding of the social issues the author is highlighting in the text.

Reading Skills: Interpreting

21st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Synthesizing

Writing Unit 3: Literary Analysis

Writing Unit 3

After reading two or more dystopian texts, students will choose one or more elements of dystopian literature to compare/contrast in a literary essay. Students must synthesize pieces of their analysis of both texts with their understanding of the characteristics of dystopian literature to create an original thesis. Through the process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, students will then prove that thesis with critical evidence across texts in a well-written literary analysis.

21st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Product Creation

Reading Unit 4: Reading for Social Issues

Reading Unit 4

Students have completed the dystopian reading unit where they considered the concept of power struggles that arise in government-controlled societies, many of which stemmed from and/or led to social issues. It’s time to take the idea of social issues to their world and the world around them via an open-choice reading unit. Students will read fiction or narrative nonfiction to find the social issues within the text. Students will identify the social issues and through their analysis of character conflict and the motivation for the choices they make, they will discuss the author’s message about the issue. Outside research and current news stories will also inform that discussion. Students will make connections between the text and their own world and/or the world around them. This unit serves as a segue into the Global and Personal Perspectives unit.

Reading Skills: Making Connections, Interpreting

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Alternate Perspectives

Writing Unit 4: Journalism: News, Investigation, and Editorial

Writing Unit 4

Students will learn to become keen observers of the world around them to report on newsworthy events quickly and concisely to their readers. In taking a deeper look at the how and the why of those events, students will investigate topics that interest them to consider the different angles of a story, issue, or event. Finally, students will write about an issue they care about in an editorial that uses support for the claim as well as narrative techniques to engage the reader.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation

Reading Unit 5: Global Perspectives

Reading Unit 5

From the power struggles in dystopian societies to the social issues in our world, students have examined the kinds of environments that lead to myriad struggles. Now students will explore how real people have emerged as heroes amidst cultural struggles for power, considering their stories from a global perspective. In examining the structure and techniques of narrative nonfiction, students will consider how authors evoke a reaction in readers and shine a light on global issues. Students will be able to determine a key passage in a narrative nonfiction text and analyze how the author presents a global issue through personal experience. Additionally, using the text’s perspective, their own evolving position on the issue, and the opinions of their peers, students will engage in discourse about global issues and their implications for our lives and our communities. Finally, students will write about a global issue that has affected them personally and that they would like to “shine a light on” for our community as a result of their work in this unit.

Reading Skills: Synthesizing

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Synthesizing, Engaging in Global Issues

Grade 9

Grade 9 - Unit 1 - Independent Reading/Defining Morality

Students will choose independent reading books from classroom libraries. Students are required to finish one book and are encouraged to read more than one, aiming toward a goal of 200 pages per week. While reading their independent novels, students will learn to:

Set attainable reading goals
Develop reading habits in and out of the classroom
Track thinking in an organized way
Productively and constructively confer with teacher
Love to read!

Mini-lessons will feature short anchor texts that present a lens with which to do focus their independent reading and a framework for the next trimester: morality and choices. Teachers will use anchor activities to help students broaden schemas and deepen understandings as they continue their independent work. Thinking should occur in the form of writing every day.

Teachers will confer with students daily, with an aim to meet with each students 1-3 times over the course of the unit.

Grade 9 - Unit 2 - To Kill a Mockingbird & Book Clubs

Students will begin this unit with the core text, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Over the course of this unit, students will learn to read critically. When a student considers a character's perspective, they must be constantly noticing and wondering. They must always self-check: What do I know? What do I think about what I know? Do I trust this character's point of view? When thinking about how different characters interpret events and why, the students must be actively reading. From here, the students will learn to consider how context and setting influences the perspective of the characters, and should self-reflect on how their own environments affect their interpretations of events happening around them.

Following the core text, students will be immersed into book clubs. Titles will be given to students such as: All American Boys, The Hate U Give, Wolf Hollow, Speak, The Lovely Bones, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Monster, The Body of Christopher Creed, everyday, etc. Students will independently apply the skills taught in the core text to their book club book while having rich discussions. The teacher will facilitate these discussions and meet with small groups/clubs that need support with previously taught skills and strategies.

Grade 9 - Unit 3 - Analyzing Literature through the Prism of Self

Students have been writing all trimester in their journals, focusing on expressing and deepening their thinking. This unit will focus on the students' ability to organize, revise, and polish writing and will allow students to break away from the traditional theme-based essay and explore a unique idea or topic using all they have read and their own life experiences.

Grade 9 - Unit 4 - Independent Reading & Research

The second reading launch for trimester 2 will focus on independent reading, independent research, and synthesis of various pieces of information. Part of preparing students for Romeo and Juliet will be to teach students how to research and synthesize information in order to understand a complex text. As students read R&J, they will be asked to analyze characters through the focus on teenagers and their growing brains. As students research a topic related to their own independent reading books, they will be preparing a presentation in order to teach a small group. Throughout their research, students will be considering biases, finding reliable resources, and synthesizing information in order to draw conclusions.

Grade 9 - Unit 5 - Romeo and Juliet & The Teenage Brain/Book Clubs

Students explore how patterns and contrasts in language (diction, imagery, and figurative language) reveal central ideas in texts and develop various motifs (light vs. dark, dreams vs. reality, high vs. low, etc.) in Romeo and Juliet. Laying the foundation for allegories which can be found in Shakespeare's writing, students examine the extent to which characters' reactions to conflict and opposition dictate the outcomes of a situation and learn about the science and psychology behind the way teenagers think about choice, conflict, and consequence. Students apply this knowledge of psychology to evaluate characters in Romeo and Juliet, in their books clubs, and their own lives.

Unit 5

Grade 10

Grade 10 World Literature Curriculum Overview

Unit	Descro
Unit 1	Storytellers have used archetypes from the beginning of storytelling. In this unit, we will explore ancient texts to pull out broader characters, images, events, and ideas that connect people across time and culture. We will examine the commonalities of different cultural groups throughout the world and across time through the lenses of character, plot (situational), and image (symbolic) archetypes. We will also study theme and how to write a proper thesis statement. This unit culminates with the application of archetypal and thematic lenses, as students will read a story and write a thesis statement about it. 21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing
Unit 2	While building on our knowledge of archetypes, we will continue to examine how storytelling developed into drama and literature. In this unit, we will explore Classic/Greek literature to develop an understanding of literary devices including allusions, theme, and symbols in addition to identifying dramatic techniques. Through our readings and discussions, we will explore what it means to be a tragic hero as well as determine how these texts are relevant to our own lives. This unit will build on our capacity to understand complex texts through the development of claims and illustrative details. 21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Synthesizing
Unit 3	Many of the texts you have read over the years are from a eurocentric point of view (including the first two units of this course). In this unit, we will broaden the students' exposure to texts and consequently examine culture through the stories of people from Africa. Topics to study will include the impact of imperialism as well as the link between storytelling and cultural identity. Students will analyze how characters develop through the influence of cultural identities. Through exploring alternate perspectives, we will challenge ourselves to improve our analysis and reflection skills. 21^st Century Capacities: Alternate Perspectives, Reflection
Unit 4	In Unit 3, we pushed our thinking to consider alternate perspectives. We continue that in Unit 4 as we look at a variety of literature from across Asia. We will examine the diversity of cultures within the largest continent. Key topics to explore may include individuality vs. conformity, tradition (respecting vs. breaking free), the weight of history, and the role of Eastern religion and philosophy. We will start with myths and folktales to explore the origins of traditions still present today and will build on that with a study of the various religions and philosophies of the region. Ultimately, students will apply this knowledge to more contemporary works, which they will study through a cultural lens. 21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Decision Making
Unit 5	In the last two units, we analyzed texts through a cultural lens. In the prior unit, we also looked at the concepts of tradition and conformity. We return back to Western culture to analyze alienation and, once again, conformity. We learn how to apply interpretive lenses (feminist, formalist, historical, Marxist, philosophical, psychological, religious, or rhetorical) as a novel approach first through a whole class text. We will each then independently select a piece of literature from Europe and develop an in-depth analysis of it by choosing and utilizing an appropriate lens. We ask student to step out of their comfort zone, relying only slightly on the familiar, to imagine new ways to analyze a text. 21st Century Capacities: Imagining, Alternate Perspectives
Unit 6	We have explored the foundational texts from many cultures and continents up to this point in the course. Now we will explore texts by the inhabitants of what are now North, Central, and South America. We will begin this unit by reading foundational works from the earliest inhabitants of these locations. After studying the beliefs and ideologies of these people, we will read contemporary texts by the same group(s). Our goal will be to examine how the ancient culture's beliefs and heritage informs contemporary literature. The purpose of the unit is to actively listen to the voices of the text. This final unit will prepare us to transition to the next course, American Literature, which opens with a discussion of what it means to be American. Ultimately, we should understand, appreciate, and celebrate not only ourselves but the differences that make up our global society. We should also see the connection between the past and present. This unit should function as a culmination of building global context and empathy. 21st Century Capacities: Alternate Perspectives, Synthesizing

Grade 11

Grade 11 American Literature Curriculum Overview

Unit

Description

How Did We Get Here?

In this unit, students will be asked to ponder what it means to be an American. At the start of the unit, they will read texts related to the beginnings of America and/or the variety of people who live in America. The goal is for students to think not only about the early years of this country, but also to consider the different experiences of those who inhabit it. After an examination of the country’s foundation, they will apply that knowledge to an in-depth analysis of rhetorical techniques and appeals. Students will look at the early writings from the Puritan times as well as texts written by members from marginalized groups. They will also study contemporary articles, news outlets, etc. in an attempt to analyze the rhetoric in their lives. Ultimately, students will write and deliver their own speech using rhetorical techniques and appeals, thus demonstrating their ability to articulate their thoughts, present a convincing argument, and examine what it means to be American today.

21^st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Presentation

Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?

In this unit, students will read works about the relationship between the individual and the society in which he lives. Emphasis is on identifying the benefits and drawbacks of conforming to societal expectations as well as looking at American works from the Transcendental and Romantic movements of the 19th century. These texts, comprised of poems, essays, and novels, are complex, so students will practice reading strategies such as annotation, identifying important passages, summarizing, and responding to the text. The writing focus of this unit will be on narration and description. Students will have the opportunity to choose from and explore a variety of poems to develop an interpretation which they will share. Furthermore, students will need to consider the Transcendentalist ideals and apply them to contemporary conversations about conformity.

21^st Century Capacities: Decision Making, Analyzing

The Mirror and the Lamp: Author’s Style

In this unit, students will look at literature as both a mirror (reflecting the ways of society) and a lamp (illuminating the author’s perspective on - and sometimes critique of - society). To do so, they will look at author’s style, paying particular attention to the ways in which an author’s choices impact his/her message. They will read various texts and analyze the author’s stylistic choices. They will then be introduced to satire, which serves as another example of an author’s style impacting the delivery and interpretation of his/her message. Students will also consider the ways in which literature can provide social commentary.

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Engaging in Global Issues

The Mirror and the Lamp: Close Reading

Students will continue to look at literature as both a mirror (reflecting the ways of society) and a lamp (illuminating the author’s perspective on - and sometimes critique of - society). This particular unit will build on all of the units that came before it and focus on reading. Students will be required to independently perform close readings of various texts and articulate their analysis of what they read. By the end of the unit, each student will be able to read a text, convey his/her thoughts about it, support his/her claims with textual evidence, and reflect on how he/she arrives at such conclusions.

Students will consider varying conceptions of the “American Dream” and will examine the link between this and the dichotomy of idealism and reality. In doing so, students will also consider the ways in which literature can provide social commentary. They will look at the ways in which their own backgrounds impact the ways in which they analyze these texts.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Synthesizing

Grade 12

Combat Literature

Unit

Description

Glorification of War - “I want YOU for the US Army?”

World War II is deemed as a “good war” and a “just war.” Most Americans contributed to the cause and soldiers were proud to fight for their country. Where did this attitude stem from? What is a “just war”? Students will analyze propaganda from World War II to first understand how the media influenced the generally positive attitude toward war. Students will then watch Saving Private Ryan to observe and analyze characters, mood, tone, symbols, and imagery to determine the purpose of the film. Students will then read fiction and nonfiction expressing different perspectives on the war, and compare and contrast these sentiments with that of the general attitudes toward World War II. Students will complete this unit by creating a movie trailer for a self-selected film depicting World War II that demonstrates a command of tone, imagery, symbolism, and dialogue.

21^st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Product Creation

Anti-War “What is it good for?”

The Vietnam War was an era of conflicting attitudes among Americans. Despite the overwhelming number of men drafted to fight, not all Americans supported the country’s involvement in the war. Students will explore the causes and effects of the war, understand the differences between American attitudes toward that war and that of WWII, and analyze the cultural phenomena of the 60’s and 70’s including film and music and their influences on the growing protest movement. Students will examine the ways the Vietnam experience influences American attitudes toward war in the 21st Century.

21^st Century Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Analyzing

Ambiguity of War “What is right?”

Students in this generation were born during the War on Terror. While their experience with war is distant and not on US soil, students will attempt to disaggregate their perspectives and understandings of this war to understand their overall sentiment toward war. In this unit, students will synthesize multiple resources to analyze the changes overtime in civilian perception of soldiers, war, and the hero. In order to become independent thinkers, students will engage in book groups to reflect on their bias and opinions and attempt to suspend judgment while considering multiple perspectives. Students will interview a veteran to gain an authentic perspective of war; students will then reflect on the interview and the motifs/ideas in the course to make an independent decision about their attitude toward war.

21^st Century Capacities: Engaging Global Issues, Alternate Perspectives, Citizenship

Creative Writing

Unit

Description

Exploring the Self through Narrative

Students will read personal narratives and craft their own. From journal entries to a developed personal narrative, they will experiment with voice, style, scene building, exploded moments, imagery, time, and place.

21^st Century Capacities: Reflection, Perseverance

Experimenting with Verse

After becoming acclimated to the language and moves of creative writing and personal reflection, students will now move to poetry to learn a different vehicle of expression. Students will read mentor texts (poems) to learn the different forms of poetry and different ways to accomplish purpose for a specific audience. Students will then analyze the ways in which poets present their poetry so that students will be prepared to both write and present their own poetry at the end of the unit.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Presentation

Short Fiction

Students will hone their creative writing skills and flex their imagination muscles! In this unit, students will begin by brainstorming topics and stories to write about to write. Using the selected topic, students will be introduced to ways to develop strong characters, conflict, setting, and engagement techniques. At each point of introduction, students will use the new techniques/ideas and then students will conference with the teacher and collaborate with their peers to improve their short fiction piece. The unit will culminate with students composing criteria to assess a short story and then students will use these criteria to assess their own writing piece.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Reflection

Writing in Dramatic Mode

Shakespeare once wrote, "All the world's a stage," and so students will learn the distinct elements that make drama, drama. Dramatic vocabulary will be introduced, identified, and evaluated in mentor texts. Then, students will write their own plays in a selected format and, in the spirit of creative writing, edit and revise their piece collaboratively. At the end of the unit, students will also complete a portfolio with their work from the course. They will present this portfolio to an authentic audience.

21^st Century Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Decision Making

Journalism

Unit

Description

Ethics And Objectivity

This unit focuses on the legal and ethical guidelines that reporters are expected to follow. It involves global thinking by including landmark legal cases involving student journalism, libel, The First Amendment, and social media. Students will examine the decisions made by a reporter during a movie, determine why those decisions are not legal or ethical, and display critical thinking by offering alternative choices that the reporter could have made in order to gain information legally. Due to the nature of the course, assignments will be constantly updated in order to represent current events.

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Citizenship

Interviewing

This unit focuses on the interviewing process that reporters are expected to follow. Students will display critical thinking by developing newsworthy story ideas, determining appropriate sources, and creating appropriate questions for those sources to address. Students will conduct a professional interview which includes questions focused on the 5 Ws and H: What? Who? Where? When? Why? and How?

21^st Century Capacities: Problem Identification, Analyzing

Article Creation

This unit focuses on crafting news articles, feature articles, and editorials. Students will learn the format and expectations of journalistic writing. Students will use their knowledge of press law, ethics, and the interviewing process to create authentic articles using the journalistic process.

21^st Century Capacities: Citizenship, Product Creation

Literature and Film

Key Concepts & Terminology

In this unit students will take their first steps towards understanding and analyzing film on a deep level. Students will begin the unit by learning about the techniques used in film as well as the vocabulary required in order to discuss those techniques. The unit will focus on allowing students to identify elements of the following aspects of film when they see them being used in a film: cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene, and sound. By learning the appropriate vocabulary in order to discuss film, and by being able to identify when these specific cinematic techniques are being used, students will make their first foray towards determining how meaning is created in film beyond the basics of plot, character, and dialogue. By the end of this unit students will be able to engage with film on a deeper level and analyze a scene for its use of cinematic techniques.

21st Century capacities: Imagining, Product Creation

From Story to the Big Screen

In the prior unit, students discussed various cinematic techniques in order to analyze film. In this unit, students will put together all they have learned about analyzing films and apply it to literature in order to create their own film memoir. Students will review personal narrative writing and how to create a theme. Students will then tell their own story, first writing an outline of the complete story and then writing three detailed, specific scenes. Students will choose one scene to film and present during the Film Festival at the end of the course.

21st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Product Creation

In the prior unit, students discussed various cinematic techniques in order to analyze film. In this unit, students will put together all they have learned about analyzing films and apply it to literature in order to create their own film memoir. Students will review personal narrative writing and how to create a theme. Students will then tell their own story, first writing an outline of the complete story and then writing three detailed, specific scenes. Students will choose one scene to film and present during the Film Festival at the end of the course.

21st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Product Creation

Modern Communication

Unit	Description
Unit 1	The unit primarily instructs students on how to write, format, and present introductions and conclusions of speeches using PowerPoint. The students will then learn strategies for delivering presentations. They will also use taught listening skills to analyze speech models in order to hone their own personal speaking skills. The unit will culminate with a presentation demonstrating the students' abilities to convey their message effectively. 21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Presentation
Unit 2	In this unit students will investigate themselves - their strengths, interests, learning styles and personality types - using Naviance and other online tools in order to find occupations to explore for future career paths. They will learn conversation skills for attaining business contacts and create a plan of action in order to follow a certain career path. Finally, students will write a business letter, resume, cover letter, and thank you letter. 21^st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Product Creation, Decision Making
Unit 3	As a result of their work in unit 2, students defined what professional success means to them. Now, students will define and reflect on personal success and evaluate their criteria against a chosen public figure. Students will also read a short novel, completing journals during reading to better understand the two types of success from their own perspective as well as the perspective of someone else. 21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Product Creation
Unit 4	At this point, we have defined personal and professional success. To advance that knowledge even further, we must consider the dichotomy of right and wrong. As such, this unit will focus on the correlation between ethics and earning/achieving personal and professional success. Students will recognize that they face ethical decisions all the time. Students will participate in a reading group in which they will discuss and journal about the ethical decisions made in the text and their ideas about personal and professional success. Ultimately, they will create their own personal ethical code. 21^st Century Capacities: Decision Making, Citizenship
Unit 5	After gaining confidence with individual public speaking and reflecting on their filmed presentations, students will be taught strategies for effective collaboration. In addition, they will learn the 7 Effective Habits of Teenagers. They will apply this knowledge to characters from a film and their personal experiences. They will reflect on their collaboration skills to gain insight for future work. Students will prepare for and participate in a mock interview. This will be a continuation of the Dream Job resume assignment from unit 2. Students will be required to update their resume, write a cover letter, engage in a mock interview, and write a thank you letter for this dream job. This will be the final assignment for the course. 21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Collective Intelligence, Reflection

Writing for Career and College

Sentence-Level Writing

At the start of the course, students will be asked to create a writing sample that the teacher will use as a pre-assessment. Based on that pre-assessment, the teacher will work with the students to further develop their grammar skills. Ultimately, students will revise that pre-assessment to show their growth and learning. During this unit, students will also read a self-selected text. At times, they will analyze the author's use of grammar in it. By the end of the unit, students will have a stronger understanding of how to develop stronger and more nuanced sentences.

Students will keep all writings from this unit in a portfolio that will be revisited at the end of the trimester.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Reflection

Putting the Pieces Together: Paragraph-Level Writing

After spending the last unit working on sentence construction, students' focus will now be on putting those sentences together to create cohesive paragraphs. In addition to continuing our study of grammatical techniques, we will also look at different types of writing, the writing process, and structure. Ultimately, students will create a full-length piece (about a topic of their choosing) that demonstrates their mastery of the skills from the unit. During this unit, students and the teacher will work together in both peer-editing and conferencing sessions to develop their skills. While some mentors texts may be used, the majority of the reading will be specific to the material students need to complete their essays.

As with the prior unit, all written pieces will go into a portfolio that will be revisited at the end of the trimester.

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Design

My Writing and My Career

During the prior unit, students learned skills and strategies for academic writing. In this final unit, all of the learning thus far will be transferred to career-based writing. Students will be encouraged to reach out to people in career fields that interest them as a means to learn about the type of writing that those professionals do. We will use that information to help students further develop the types of writing skills that they will need to thrive in their careers. This means that many of the lessons in this unit will be driven by the students' needs and not a pre-determined list. In addition, some time will be spent talking about email etiquette.

As with the prior two units, all writing will go into a portfolio. At the end of this unit, and thus the course, students will reflect on their growth.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Presentation

Dramatic Workshop I

Unit

Description

Getting to Know You and the Theater

In this unit, students will be introduced to the basics of ensemble work, the stage and improv. They will engage in team building activities and learn about ways to prepare to act, engaging in - amongst other things - warm-up and voice exercises. They will also learn their way around the theater by studying stage directions, types of stages, and different ways one can act (improvisation and pantomime will be introduced). Students will begin an observation journal that will be used throughout the course to adapt and create characters. Students will critique each other's performances and learn to give meaningful feedback. Finally, they will work in small groups to introduce their peers to the rest of the class.

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Collective Intelligence

Tell Me a Story

In this unit students will explore the art of storytelling, turning a narrative into a performance, and will consider the impact an audience has on a story, continuing to support each other through constructive critique. Students will also advance their improvisational skills, paying attention to body, effort, shape and space. Students will view plays (video or live) and critique the story telling.

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Product Creation, Imagining

Creating a Scene

First students will study a character that interests them from a selection of plays offered by the teacher and then they will bring all they know about voice, movement, and storytelling to creating an original character with unique motivations and an original backstory. The idea of blocking a scene will be presented, studied in filmed plays, and practiced so that students can perform a scene with a partner using the characters they created, props, and costumes. Throughout the unit students will continue to pull ideas from the observation journal in order to create complex characters that they can use in improv as well as their writing of scenes.

21^st Century Capacities: Presentation, Collective Intelligence, Alternate Perspectives

Dramatic Workshop II

Unit

Description

The Comedy & The Tragedy

In this unit students will learn the history of theater from the Middle Ages to 1800 as they study tragedies and comedies from this time period. Learning will be focused on the different types of each genre as well as the use of language in each genre to produce a specific mood and tone. The role of critique and revision will be focused on as students prepare to write and perform either a tragic or comedic scene. Students will work on acting skills through improvisation and short, scripted performances throughout the unit.

21^st Century Capacities: Design, Product Creation

On the Set

This short unit (2 to 2.5 weeks) is meant to give students an introduction to set construction, set design and lighting design. Students will explore the many options for designing a set and should be exposed to live or filmed plays from which to gather ideas and understanding. Students will learn how scenery and lighting can imply time, social status, mood, tone and how to use symbolic elements. To break up this more technical unit, teachers can include improv activities.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Synthesizing

The Past and the Future

In this last unit of the course students will first learn about theater from 1800 to the present and then will bring together all they have learned about acting, set and lighting design, and the history of theater to create a performance. For the six weeks of this unit students will form ensembles, choose drama material, design a set, and block a scene that they will perform. Students will adapt a scene from a well-known play, for example, making a tragedy into a comedy, making a realistic scene a fantastical one, or modernizing a scene from play of a different time period. Showing students actual plays- live or taped continues to be of great importance.

21^st Century Capacities: Product Creation, Collective Intelligence, Synthesizing

Bible as Literature

*Course developed in consultation with Rabbi Stacy Offner of Temple Beth Tikvah

Unit

Description

Why Study the Bible?

This launch unit focuses on the how and the why of biblical study. Beginning with the United States Supreme Court decision (Abington v. Schempp (1963) that allows the Bible to be studied as a historical and literary work in an unbiased, non-devotional, non-denominational fashion, students will analyze this case law and apply it to Steve Green's Museum of the Bible Curriculum, deciding whether or not it adheres to the court's ruling. With a clear understanding of the objective, secular nature of this course, students will then examine the pedagogy that supports it: The Bible as Literature is a course designed to prepare students to analyze and understand the myriad biblical allusions that they will encounter in their study of art, history, law, literature, music, philosophy, etc. as undergraduates.

21^st Century Capacities: Analyzing, Synthesizing

In the Beginning - The Book of Genesis

In this unit, students acquire the discreet skills of biblical exegesis formulated by Judeo-Christian scholars over millenia: Plain Sense Reading teaches students how to check for comprehension; Inquiring Reading teaches students how to question biblical texts, a practice that uncovers deep historical and literary truths; Allegorical Reading challenges students to view the Bible more as a collection of symbolic stories rather than objective fact; and Thematic Reading which requires students to examine the Bible for events meant to impart universal lessons about the human condition. These skills will allow students to read the Bible as an historical document of high literary merit, the only approach to biblical study allowed in public schools according to Abington v. Schempp (1963).

21^st Century Capacities: Alternate Perspectives, Synthesizing

The Promised Land - Exodus

What would life be like without laws? The first two books of the Bible provide a disturbing answer to this question: a world of vice and indulgence ranging from drunkenness and murder, to incest and rape; a lawless world in which God's punishments are of the harshest kind (fire and brimstone), but are the direct result of Him neglecting to give his chosen people a codified set of laws. Students will examine the nature of prescriptive and proscriptive laws in the form of the Ten Commandments, and what these laws help readers to infer about the Israelites. With an informed understanding of the effect the Ten Commandments have had on the Judeo-Christian tradition, students will examine the laws -- written and unwritten -- that govern their lives in modern-day Madison, CT.

21^st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Collective Intelligence